Finding Home
by wildchild22
Summary: After escaping the horrific truth that was her home life, Anna meets Spot. Waiting for her leg to heal, she starts work as a newsie. She leaves to live with her aunt, and its not till then that Spot realises he loves her. R&R!
1. Getting Out

Author's Note: Hey all! I'm back with a new one! Listen, I promise that this gets better, it's just needed for a good intro! So please, R&R! Enjoy!âº  
  
Location: North Eastern New Jersey, Year: 1897.  
  
"Daddy, stop! Ouch, please daddy, you're hurting me. Stop!" Anna's father had just thrown her down the basement stairs for the third time that week. Ever since he mother had begun working, he began drinking heavily, though that was a very poor excuse.  
  
If you looked at her, you could tell that she didn't deserve this. She didn't belong with her over worked mother, drunken father, and lethal older brother. Though she was covered in cuts and bruises from head to toe, you could still see her beauty shine through. She was 14 years old, but looked and acted about 16. She had dark auburn hair reaching her mid-back, creamy skin, hazel eyes, and a slim athletic figure. Her smile was bright, and her eyes glistened behind long, thick lashes. Even though her home life was a nightmare, she always managed to put on a happy face for the world.  
  
Right now, however, her usually pleasant smile was replaced with hallow, raw fear. True, this was in no way the first time her father had beaten her for no apparent reason, but she'd never seen him quite this crazy before. His eyes were bloodshot and bulging as he swayed, and managed to mumble, "Oo've otta 'earn yer l'son, an izz ub do be do 'eash I' oo ya."  
  
After 5 years of listening to her father's alcohol drained language, she had become quite good at deciphering his slurring, and translated his statement to: "You've got to learn your lesson, and it's up to me to teach it to you."  
  
"Daddy, please! Just tell me what I did and I'll fix it. Oh please daddy DON'T!" He had just lifted a lamp off of the bar he had built when they had first moved in, and was attempting to throw it at her in his shaky condition.  
  
She was now dodging various objects that were being hurled at her by ducking under tables, behind chair, and anything else that might shelter her. However, when her father had tried to lift the coffee table over his head to throw it at her, he had fallen over with its weight. Using this to her advantage, she crossed the room and began running up the stairs into the kitchen, adrenalin pumping through her every vain.  
  
She was about to turn the corner and run into her room when she ran straight into what she knew could only be one thing, and was pummeled to the floor. "Where do you think you're going, Anna?" Her brother was nearly 6' 6", and had a muscular build as a result of being the town bully.  
  
"Get out of the way, Robert," she shouted, but she knew it was no use. Robert had a menacing smile on, which told Anna that she was as good as dead. She started to get back up to run around him, but was shot back to the floor when Robert backhanded her hard on the cheek.  
  
"You aint going nowhere, bitch. Dad! Hey dad, come here for a minute!"  
  
Anna gave a shriek of horror and tried to crawl away, but her brother reached down and pulled her up by her hair, holding her to him in a tight head lock. She was more scared than she had been in her life. Sure, she had been beaten by both of them separately, but she never had to face the two of them together.  
  
She could hear her father stumbling up the basement stairs, and was looking crazier than ever. "Well, well, what are we gonna do with you. When will you learn." And Anna softly screamed yet again when she saw him go into the kitchen and return holding a butcher knife.  
  
She could hear Robert laugh his devilish laugh in her ear, making her feel queasy, and he said, "That might teacher her, Pop." Anna wouldn't give up without a fight, though her chances of a victory were very dim. But she had an advantage: they were stronger, but she was definitely faster.  
  
As her father advanced on her with the knife, she tried to slide herself to her left, but Robert had brought her back, and the knife narrowly missed her shoulder. She kept her feet moving on the floor, trying desperately to stay unharmed by the knife. "I'm gonna teach you a lesson you'll never forget!" her father yelled, radiating with drunken madness.  
  
Anna suddenly shouted, "Not this time!" and thrusted her elbow hard into Robert's stomach, and tried to jump up to kick the knife out of her father's hand. But in his drunken state, he'd already swayed back slightly, and Anna had missed his hand, and he stabbed her hard in the side of her outer thigh.  
  
She screamed in agony, and waited desperately for her father to pull the knife out. When he finally did he sputtered, "That'll teach you to--" but he didn't finish. He got a blank look on his face and began to fall forward, the knife still clutched in his hand.  
  
Taking this free action, Anna scrambled out of his path, but screamed yet again when she saw the knife hit Robert in the chest. She sat there, stunned as she watched her evil brother fight for his life. He looked over at her and gasped, "What are you looking at?!" And with that, his head fell, and Anna just stared blankly into his lifeless eyes.  
  
She jumped and screamed yet again when she heard a gunshot fired in her direction. Her mother, who had been sleeping on the couch in the other room after working the night shift as a cleaning lady, was standing in the doorway leading into the hall that Anna was in. The gun was pointed at her father, and a stream of blood was slowly trickling down his back.  
  
"Well," her mother said in a falsely calm voice. "what kind of mess have you gotten yourself into this time." Her eyes were squinted, and her mouth was pursed shut, giving her quite a menacing appearance. "I, uh- well, uh- " Anna gasped, but then realized what her mother was looking at. Anna's leg was now bleeding openly all over the navy blue rug, reminding her of how much it hurt.  
  
"My beautiful carpet. You've ruined it!"  
  
"But-but I didn't mean to. I'm sor-"  
  
"Get out of my house! You've managed to kill both your father and brother as well as ruin my rug, now get out!!"  
  
"But I didn't-"  
  
"I said get OUT!"  
  
At this, Anna sprang up out of nerves, but was soon back on the floor owing to her injured leg. Her mother now looked thoroughly insane. She picked up a chair from around the table, and held it up, threatening to throw it at Anna if she didn't leave. Anna began to scramble away and out the front door, using the railing outside to pull herself up to her feet, and she proceeded to limp down the streets. The pain in her leg was excruciating, and the wound was still severely bleeding.  
  
Somehow, she'd managed to (after falling many times) limp her way to the boarder of the state. She found the boat docks, and with all the strength she could muster, hopped aboard the nearest boat and slid down to the lower deck. She fell to the floor out of pure exhaustion, and laid in the deserted corridor for longer than she cared to think about.  
  
"Hey! Dis is the end of the line, miss. You'll have to get off."  
  
Anna awoke with a stir.  
  
"Wha-? Oh, sorry, sir." Anna struggled to get up and proceeded to get off the boat. When she got off, she looked around at where she was. "Wow," she whispered in awe, and began to limp around the street.  
  
'There's got to be a place where I can sleep,' she thought desperately. But then, she collapsed all together.  
  
She would've been knocked unconscious, considering there was nothing but a pile of rocks in front of her, but something warm and soft had caught her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Well, there ya go! I really hope you guys like this story, and don't worry, I PROMISE it gets better!âº Well, all for now, please R&R!! âºâº  
  
~♥~Wildchild22~♥~ 


	2. New Acquaintances

Author's Note: Hey, I realize that this has been a little weird, but I think that this chapter brings it back a little. Please R&R!!  
  
"Wha-What happened? Where am I?"  
  
Anna was lying on a couch in a large room with her feet propped up on a pillow. "'Evening pretty face," said a boy of about 16.  
  
"Huh?" Anna said, her eyes trying desperately to adjust to the light. "What happened?" she asked again.  
  
"Well," the boy started, coming around in front of her, giving her a clear view of him. Anna drew in a sharp, yet quiet, gasp. He was tall, had sandy blonde hair that was long to the ears with stray wisps of hair falling onto his face. He had rich, tanned skin, well defined muscles lost in a baggy navy blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and a set of piercing blue eyes. "You almost got yer head cracked open on a pile o' rocks."  
  
It was slowly coming together in her head, but she still had many questioned she wanted him to answer.  
  
"Where are we? What is this place? And who are you?" She was talking very fast, but fell silent at her last question. "Sorry, that was very rude."  
  
The boy chuckled lightly, and said with amusement, "It's fine. Besides, I ain't used to people bein' all courteous anyhow. And if I do say so, and I do, you're one of the politer ones. At this, Anna smiled sweetly and said, "Well, let me try again any way."  
  
She sat up and stuck her right hand out for him to shake. When he took it in his own, a chill went down her spine. 'What's the matter with me?' she thought, becoming very frustrated with herself.  
  
She decided to distract herself by saying, "I'm Anna Thompson. What's your name?"  
  
The boy perked up, looking almost obnoxiously proud. "Spot Conlan's me name, Leader of da Brooklyn newsies." Looking confused, Anna said, "The what of the what?" Spot just smiled and said, "You'll find out. So, what happened to your leg?"  
  
Anna looked down at her leg and saw that someone had wrapped it in a white cloth. "Um, it's not important," she said shaking her head. "Sure it is, I'm the one who cleaned it and wrapped it up, so don't ya think ya can at least tell me what it's from?"  
  
Anna took in a deep breath and said slowly, "It's from-*sigh*- it's just-a cut. That's all." Spot raised an eyebrow, not believing that that was all it was from, but contented himself with it, figuring he'd find out eventually. "Well, whatever it's from, ya aint gonna be able to walk on it for about a week or two without it killin ya, so I figure you's got three choices. Ya can either stay inside on a couch for a week, get a crutch or something, or, ya can walk on it anyway, and be in pain for about a month."  
  
Anna considered the options momentarily before declaring her choice. "I'll just walk around anyway, after all, I did manage to walk all the way here on it, didn't I?" Spot sat up a little straighter in the chair he had only moments ago sat down in. "Yeah, where exactly did ya come from?"  
  
"Northern Jersey."  
  
"Northern Joisey? Ya walked all the way to the harbor with that gouge in your leg from Northern Joisey?"  
  
Anna hadn't really considered how far it had been. She had only been so focused on getting as far away from her house as possible that she hadn't even realized where she was going. "Uh," she began, "Yeah, I guess so. I wasn't really thinking about it."  
  
Spot's eyebrows were raised, and his jaw was hanging slightly, giving him the look of a surprised mentally vacant person. "Okay, forget what I said, besides, ya seem like a fast healer and--oh my God!" Spot finished with a shout. Anna had just reached up to pull her hair away from her face, revealing numerous cuts and bruises along her inner arms and sides of her neck.  
  
Spot got up and moved to the couch to sit next to her. Confused, Anna looked back at him, but as soon as she realized what he'd seen, she made a lame attempt to conceal her injuries. But she was too late. He had already seen the purple and blue marks covering her upper body, and was now examining them. "Holy shit," he'd whisper intensely from time to time. He took her right arm, which was farthest from him, and held it out, brushing his soft hand over the marks, sending fresh chills up her spine.  
  
When he got to her neck, she noticed he'd leaned in considerably close to her face. Anna's eyes were slightly wider than normal, heart racing, and her breath kept getting caught in her throat. Spot had brought both of his hands to her neck when her saw the fresh bruises forming around the circumference, as a result of her brother's head-lock.  
  
"What the-? How did ya get all these?" he asked, still running his ringers over the marks lightly. "Um, I can't- I cant tell you," she said, hanging her head in despair. Spot simply nodded awkwardly in response. He was extremely close to her. So close she could feel his warm breath on her face.  
  
His hands were still gently lingering around the sides of her neck. "Spot- " Anna said, uncertainly. But Spot shook his head slightly and whispered a small "Sh..." and slowly closed the gap between them. His lips were hovered almost directly above hers, but she couldn't let him do it. Just as his lips were about to brush hers, she turned her head to the side, and his lips came in contact with her cheek instead.  
  
Spot slowly moved back away, putting distance between them again. Anna softly said, "I'm sorry, Spot" But Spot placed two fingers over her mouth and rubbed the back of his knuckles along her cheek. "Ya gots a place to stay?"  
  
Since she had never been in New York City before in her life, and she sort of left at the last minute, she certainly hadn't planned on staying anywhere in specific, just a park bench here and there. Seeing her expression of mild concern, Spot simply said, "I figured as much," and standing up, he continued, "Well, you could always stay here." And he spun around, gesturing with his arms, as if putting the room on display. After looking around the room, Anna asked, "And, uh, where exactly would 'here' be?"  
  
Spot, forgetting that she had no clue where she was, said, "Oh, I'm sorry, this is da Brooklyn newsies' lodgin' house." At this, Anna mouthed an 'oh', and her face wrinkled in confusion yet again, and she said, "Brooklyn?"  
  
At this, Spot's eyes, which had been wandering the room snapped back to hers. "Ya aint never hoid of Brooklyn?" Spot said this as if it was totally ludicrous, but Anna's lips moved to the corner of her mouth as she shook her head. Now Spot's jaw was threatening to hit the floor in his disbelief. "What're they teachin ya up dere in them Joisey schools?"  
  
Anna's face slightly fell. "I haven't been to school since I was six. I only went one year, then my daddy pulled me out. He said it took up too much time and cost too much money." At the thought of her father, Anna's face fell even further. Memories of her last 'encounter' with him flooded her mind as pearly tears made their way silently down her cheeks.  
  
At first, they were blank, emotionless tears, but after a second or two, Anna was reduced to intense sobs, her petite body heaving and quivering. Spot cautiously moved closer to her from his place in the middle of the room, and knelt beside her couch she was sitting sideways on. He carefully placed a hand on her elbow, not wanting to upset her more. Somehow, he knew that this had nothing with school.  
  
When she felt his warm hand touch her flesh, she softly whimpered. Knowing that he wouldn't get hit if he did so, he got up, swung her legs around so they'd be on the floor, and slowly slid an arm around her shoulders, trying desperately to comfort her a little.  
  
When she felt his arm around her, she sank into his chest, sobbing openly. Spot wrapped both arms around her back, shushing her to a somewhat calmer state. "I'm sorry, I'm being stupid." She said about 5 minutes later, having slightly calmed down. Spot slowly released her and said, "Donts worry about it." And with that, she sat up and wiped the tears from her face. Spot smiled down at her and stood up.  
  
"Come on, you gotta find a job and a place to stay." Anna looked up in surprise. "A job?" Spot grabbed her by the wrist and began steering her out of the large room. "Yeah, a job. Ya gotta find some way to buy food. Unless ya's planin on living off rats. Ya can, so long as ya don't mind being dead,"  
  
Anna looked horrified. "Rats can kill you?" "Sure can, if ya find 'em in the wrong places. Come downstairs and meet me newsies. They'll help ya find a job." At this, she got a more pleasant look about her. "They'd do that? For me?" "Yeah, is I tell 'em to," and Spot looked back at her, quirking a smile in her direction.  
  
When they came to a large wooden door, Spot simply said, "Alright, here goes," in an airy tone, and kicked the base of the door, letting a loud mirage of boys' voices meet their ears.  
  
~*~ Well, what did you think? A little better than the first chapter? Please!!! Let me know what you guys think!  
  
♥wildchild22♥ 


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